Evaluation of chronic cough in children

Abstract

Chronic cough in children is among the problems that lead to frequent consultations with a doctor. In this study, we attempted to research the reasons for chronic cough by an evaluation method using the guidelines that were suggested for children by the American College of Chest Physicians (ACCP) in 2006. We studied 108 children between 6 and 14 years of age who had a cough that lasted for > 4 weeks. The patients were reevaluated during the second to fourth weeks, and until either the cough terminated or resolved. Twenty-five percent of the patients received diagnoses of asthma and asthma-like symptoms, 23.4% received diagnoses of protracted bronchitis, 20.3% received diagnoses of upper airway cough syndrome (UACS), and 4.6% received diagnoses of gastroesophageal reflux disease. Asthma and asthma-like symptoms, protracted bronchitis, and UACS were detected in order of frequency as the reason for chronic cough in children. We concluded that the 2006 ACCP guidelines for the management of chronic cough in children are effective and can be successfully utilized in a nonaffluent study setting.